Two children and a woman have been killed after the car they were travelling in flipped over on the M6 in Staffordshire.

Two boys, aged four and 10, and a 32-year-old woman died in the single-vehicle crash, which happened just over an hour after a married couple in their 50s were killed in a separate road collision near Basingstoke.

The M6 crash happened in the northbound lanes between junction 14 and 15 at about 11.25am, and closed the northbound carriageway. The motorway has since reopened.

It was earlier reported that the three victims were all children.

The West Midlands Ambulance Service said the victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Two other women were injured and taken to University Hospital North Staffordshire, where they are in a stable condition.

Image Caption:The accident occurred on the M6 between junctions 14 and 15

The Highways Agency has confirmed that the weather at the time of the crash was fine and dry.

Earlier on Christmas Day, Ann Mary Goodrich, 57, and her husband Paul John Goodrich, 56, from Hampshire, died following the collision on the B3349 Odiham Road at Heckfield Heath, near Basingstoke.

A 29-year-old man from Farnborough, believed to be the driver of the other vehicle involved, received medical attention at the scene before being taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The B3011 and the B3349 were closed after the crash.

Meanwhile, one man and three horses died after a crash on the A14 near Sproughton in Suffolk at 10.20pm on Christmas Eve.

Police were called to reports of up to six horses loose on the road after a collision involving four vehicles.

Image Caption:Motorists on the M6 northbound carriageway wait for the road to clear

A Suffolk Police spokeswoman said a 23-year-old man from Cambridgeshire died on Christmas Day.

She added: "A section of the A14 westbound carriageway between Copdock and Sproughton was closed in order to recover the vehicles and horses, three of which died as a result of the collision."

:: Police are appealing for witnesses to crashes to contact them by phoning 101.